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Interior Art News

I have some news on the interior art that I'm very excited to share. I've worked out arrangements with an artist for the pieces we'll have inside the covers should we meet either of our upcoming stretch goals. His name is Evgeni Maloshenkov. He's twenty-four, lives in the Ukraine, is a self-taught illustrator, and, as you can see from the two examples below, amazingly talented.

I love these two pieces. I tend to like the more abstract, and these are no exceptions. I also love the eastern European and Russian steppe sensibilities of them. They fit the style and tone I'm shooting for for The Lays of Anuskaya stories in particular, but I think Evgeni will do wonderful work with the other pieces as well. You can see more of Evgeni's work over at his website.

As of this writing, we haven't yet reached the stretch goals for interior art, but now I'm even more excited about getting there!

Night Shade Books has stepped up again to help support this Kickstarter! They've donated trade paperback versions of The Winds of Khalakovo and The Straits of Galahesh, so effective immediately, I'm officially adding the following bonuses to the upper reward levels:

If you pledge at the Longsword ($50) level, in addition to the current rewards, you'll get your choice of a trade paperback copy of The Winds of Khalakovo or The Straits of Galahesh.

If you pledge at the Shashka ($75) level or higher (which includes Shamshir, Berdische, Skiff, and Windship), in addition to the current rewards, you'll get a trade paperback copy of both The Winds of Khalakovo and The Straits of Galahesh.

Interested in these new rewards but aren't sure how to change your reward level? Here's an FAQ from Kickstarter that covers that:

That's the goal of this Kickstarter, to get these stories into the hands of the readers who want them. I've already contacted the wonderful artist of the Dark Valkyrie, Sang Han, the piece you see above, and arranged for its use once the Kickstarter is fully funded. I also have a copy editor lined up to go over any new material for this collection.

I've set the initial goal of the Kickstarter as low as I can to cover things like copy editing and artwork, and I'm confident we can reach that goal. But I have some exciting stretch goals planned as well (see Stretch Goals above).

I would very much appreciated your spreading the word about this, my first Kickstarter. Even if it's not for you, your friends might love a chance to get an early copy of this story collection. And if you participate, I am deeply grateful in your confidence in me as a writer, because let's face it, that's the writer's greatest pleasure, sharing the stories they wish to tell.

The Stretch Goals

$1,500 — Unlocked! — I'll write a brand new story set in the Winds of Khalakovo universe.

$2,000 — Unlocked! — Everyone will receive an e-copy of The Winds of Khalakovo as part of their ePack.

$2,500 — Unlocked! — I'll write a second story set in the Winds of Khalakovo universe.

$3,000 — Unlocked! — Everyone will receive an e-copy of The Straits of Galahesh as part of their ePack.

$3,500 — Unlocked! — I'll write a third story set in a brand new middle-grade world I'm working on, a world that's loosely based off of Norse mythology.

$5,000 — Unlocked! — Six stories will receive interior art. I'll work with an artist to get introductory pieces for some of the stories, some of which I'll open up to a survey at the end of the Kickstarter. These will be included in the e and print versions of the collection.

$7,500 — All of the stories in the collection will receive interior art. No need for voting in this case. Every single story will get its own custom illustration and will be included in the e and print versions of the collection.

And in the event we get even higher, I'll add additional stretch goals, which will probably be art renderings for some of the stories in the anthology.

The Cover

Lest Our Passage Be Forgotten & Other Stories

Preliminary Table of Contents

This is preliminary because more stories may be added, but these are the list of stories the anthology will start with.

“In the Eyes of the Empress’s Cat”. First printed in Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show.

“Lest Our Passage Be Forgotten”. First printed in Realms of Fantasy Magazine.

“From the Spices of Sanandira”. First printed in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

And two previously unpublished stories:

“An Instrument of War”

“Prey to the Gods”

Risks and challenges

There are typically a few major challenges to overcome in a project like this. The first is the cover art and cover design. This has already been completed. I've contacted artist Sang Han and arranged for the use of his wonderful Dark Valkyrie for this story collection. The second challenge is to get the book copy edited. I have a copy editor identified and plan to work with them once the Kickstarter is fully funded.

The stories in the collection are already written, so that won't be an issue. There are, however, stories included in the stretch goals that may provide a challenge in that stories take time to write. But in all three cases, I have the rough story ideas in mind, so this should not be a difficult obstacle to overcome.

FAQ

Rewards

You selected

Pledge $5 or more

142 backers

STILETTO: A DRM-free ePack that includes a PDF (readable via Adobe Acrobat), an EPUB (for Kobo, Nook, iPhone or iPad), and a MOBI (for Kindles). EPUB and MOBI editions can also be read on your PC or Mac with the Nook, Kindle, or Adobe Digital Editions applications.

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge $15 or more

25 backers

KHANJAR: Receive a digitally signed and personalized ePack of the story collection. Your name will also be listed under your pledge level in the credits.

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge $30 or more

30 backers

KINDJAL: Everything in Khanjar plus plus a signed and personalized trade paperback version of the collection. Your name will also be added to your pledge level in the credits. The ePack will be sent as soon as it's available. The softcover will be sent later. Please add $10 for international shipping.

Estimated delivery:Apr 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge $50 or more

31 backers

LONGSWORD: Everything in Khanjar plus a signed and personalized limited edition hardcover. Your name will also be added to your pledge level in the credits. The ePack will be sent as soon as it's available. The hardcover will be sent later. Please add $10 for international shipping.

Estimated delivery:Apr 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge $75 or more

11 backers

SHASHKA: Everything in Khanjar plus a signed and personalize limited edition hardcover and a signed, personalized softcover trade paperback. Your name will also be added to your pledge level in the credits. The ePack will be sent as soon as it's available. The hardcover and softcover will be sent later. Please add $15 for international shipping.

Estimated delivery:Apr 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge $100 or more

7 backers

SHAMSHIR: Everything in Shashka plus an additional signed and personalized limited edition hardcover. Your name will also be added to your pledge level in the credits. The ePack will be sent as soon as it's available. The two hardcovers and one softcover will be sent later. Please add $20 for international shipping.

Estimated delivery:Apr 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge $250 or more

1 backer
Limited (2 left of 3)

BERDISCHE: Everything in Shashka plus name a character for a story to be added to the collection. You'll work with me to develop a name that will fit the time and place of the story. The story will be added to the collection. Your name will also be added to your pledge level in the credits. Please add $15 for international shipping.

Estimated delivery:Apr 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge $500 or more

0 backers
Limited (1 left of 1)

SKIFF: Everything in Shashka plus develop a character for a story to be added to the collection. You'll work with me to develop a name that will fit the time and place of the story, as well as the backstory for the character, their personality, their strengths and weaknesses, and so on. The story will be added to the collection before it's finalized. Your name will also be added to your pledge level in the credits. Please add $15 for international shipping.

Estimated delivery:Apr 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

You selected

Pledge $1,000 or more

0 backers
Limited (1 left of 1)

WINDSHIP: Everything in Shashka plus create a story for the collection! Give me an idea for a story. We'll develop the story and then I'll write it and include it in the collection. Your name will also be added to your pledge level in the credits. Please add $15 for international shipping.

Estimated delivery:Apr 2013

Ships anywhere in the world

Funding period

Dec 3, 2012 - Jan 11, 2013
(38 days)

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